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Volume 6 (2) | September 2014

Indo-US Science & Technology Forum

Newsletter of IUSSTF

Indo-US Science and Technology Forum

Second Generation Biofuels

A World Much Greener

cover story

04 Second Generation Biofuels

A World Much Greener

interview

09 Dr. Ray O. Johnson

feature

11Indo-US Joint Center for the Analysis of Variable Star

Starry Skies

reports

16 United States - India Science & Technology Endowment Fund

Time for Innovation

20 Excerpts from the Joint Statement

Fifth India-U.S. Strategic Dialogue

22 Indo-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium - 2014 Convergence from Dialogue

26 Intel® International Science and Engineering Fair

Making India Proud

30 Giving Wings to Talent

36DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program (IIGP) 2014

Catalysing change through Innovation

37TiEcon 2014

Fostering Entrepreneurship

news and events38 Events Diary

C O N T E N T S

S&T Cooperation is high up on the priority list of United States of America and India. IUSSTF has emerged as a robust mechanism to convert this vision into reality and stands entrusted with the responsibility to implement several programmatic activities in this context. The just concluded 5th India–US Strategic Dialogue led by Secretary Kerry and Minister Sushma Swaraj at New Delhi took an appreciative note of many of such efforts that we are pleased to share in this issue of CONNECT.

Energy Independence and Security Act of USA mandates use of 21 bn. gallons of 2nd generation biofuels per year

by 2022, while the National Biofuels Policy of India, 2009 proposes a target of 20% blending of biofuels by 2017. In our Cover Story, we highlight the U.S.-India Consortium for Development of Sustainable Advanced Lignocellulosic Biofuel Systems, under the Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC). Aimed to accelerate transition to a low- carbon & energy-secure economy, the Biofuel Consortium addresses 2nd generation biofuels as a priority under the JCERDC.

Innovation flowers best in a collaborative environment rather than arms length technical exchanges. For decades, scientists, engineers, and social innovators from India and the United States have worked side-by-side to make this happen, the most well known example being agricultural cooperation that led to the Green Revolution. Recognizing the complimentarity between US and Indian strengths in technology commercialization and frugal innovation, respectively, the two governments have established the US–India Science & Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF) for promoting joint efforts aimed at commercialization of S&T led innovations for societal benefits. USISTEF is administered by IUSSTF by way of hosting the USISTEF Executive Secretariat. In this issue we highlight the projects supported under the 4th Call for Proposals involving an outlay of ~ Rs. 10 crores (US$ 1.5 million).

An organization is as good as it leadership. IUSSTF has been lucky indeed to have some of the best technical minds of India and the US as members on its Governing Board. We bring to you an interview with Dr. Ray O Johnson, Chief Technology Officer, Lockheed Martin and a member of IUSSTF Board. Dr. Johnson was in India recently to attend the Indo-US Frontiers of Engineering (IAFOE) Symposium at Mysore in May 18-21, 2014 (see pg. 18), which was partly supported by Lockheed Martin and Infosys. IAFOE symposium is organized by IUSSTF in partnership with US National Academy of Engineering and held once every two years. IUSSTF has a similar partnership with National Academy of Science (NAS) for the Indo-US Frontiers of Science Symposium. These two symposiums bring together about 70 bright young scientists/ engineers from India and US for discussions on emerging areas of science and engineering.

Dr. Johnson has been instrumental in conceptualizing the DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program (IIGP). In eight years since its inception IIGP (see pg. 36) has supported more than 300 innovators through mentoring on product commercialization, readiness for market, business models, IP rights, competitive positioning and mechanisms for revenue. These efforts have led to as many as 69 business deals worth Rs. 1500 crores as highlighted in a report by M/s Ernst and Young. We also bring you a feature on Indo-US Joint Center for the Analysis of Variable Star probing deep skies for clues that shall further enhance our understanding about the evolution and functioning of the cosmos (pg. 11). These and other reports will hopefully give our readers a good idea of the dynamism that now characterizes Indo-US S&T Collaboration.

Promoting innovation is not a one-time big bang achievement but comprises of small steps and initiatives painstakingly executed that overtime culminate in a momentum that overwhelms most difficult of hurdles. Your feedback will equip the team at IUSSTF to deliver upto its potential. I look forward to your inputs and suggestions.

Rajiv SharmaExecutive Director, IUSSTF

From the Editor-in-ChiefEditor-in-ChiefRajiv SharmaExecutive Director, IUSSTF

Editorial Advisory GroupSamuel Kotis Deputy Minister CounselorEnvironment Science and Technology AffairsU.S. Embassy, New Delhi

Michael CheethamDirector, India Science and Technology Partnership (INSTP)

Smriti TrikhaSr. Science Manager, IUSSTF

Nishritha BopanaPrincipal Science Officer, IUSSTF (Member Convener)

Editorial Consultant Manoj Dabas

Layout Design / DTP Pramod Jha

OpinionsOpinions expressed in Connect do not necessarily reflect the opinion of IUSSTF or other organizations associated with publication of Connect.

Comments and SuggestionsPlease email the Connect Team at [email protected]

Design, Production and CirculationCommunication & Outreach Division AFE Consultants Private Limited Aravali House, 431/D-22, Chhatarpur Hills New Delhi-110074, India

Published and Printed by :Nishritha Bopana on behalf of Indo-US S&T Forum from Fulbright House 12 Hailey Road, New Delhi - 110 001

Printed at : ArchanaC-78, Okhla Industrial Area Phase-I, New Delhi - 110 020

22

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Connect • September 2014Connect • September 2014

Volume 6 (2) | September 2014

Indo-US Science & Technology Forum


11

2 3

04

VISION

The major goal of this consortium is to develop and optimize selected non-food biomass (high yielding varieties of sorghum, pearl millet, bamboo and switch grass)-based advanced biofuel systems and bio-based products like biogas and lignin-based high value polymers for the U.S. and India. The successful completion of the project is expected to benefit both nations by delivering a working model for feedstock production and supply, biochemical conversion approaches and technologies that have been validated on pre-commercial scale systems, and overall economics and sustainability of biofuel production and supply systems.

CONSORTIUM OBJECTIVES

The research is grouped under three broad thrust areas or Work Programs (WP):WP1 – Feedstock development and supplyWP2 – Biorefinery technologiesWP3 – Sustainability, marketing and policy

Feedstock development and supply (WP1): This program focuses on breeding high yielding switchgrass and sorghum in the U.S. and sorghum, pearl millet and bamboo cultivars in India that can be grown on marginal lands. These marginal lands have been identified as those lands that are flood and drought prone in the United States along the Mississippi and Missouri river flood plains in the Midwestern states, and salinity and drought prone areas in Central, Western and Southern states of India. Specific objectives are to:• Improve production potential and feedstock quality using genomics

Ahmed KamalIndian Institute of Chemical

Technology, Hyderabad, INDIA

C. Ganesh KumarIndian Institute of

Chemical Technology Hyderabad, INDIA

P. PullammanappallilUniversity of Florida

Gainesville, USA

Beena PatelAbellon Clean Energy Limited

Ahmedabad, INDIA

Janaki AlavalapatiVirginia Tech University

Blacksburg, USA

Shibu JoseUniversity of Missouri,

Columbia, USA

P. Srinivasa RaoInternational Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics, Hyderabad, INDIA

C O V E R S T O R Y

The Energy Independence and Security Act of USA (EISA, 2007) mandates that the United States must use 21 billion gallons of second generation biofuels per year by 2022, while the National Biofuels Policy of India approved on December 24, 2009 proposes an indicative target of 20% blending of biofuels by 2017. This can be made possible with the sustainable production and use of biofuels from non-food based feedstock which can increase energy independence, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and promote healthier land-use while providing additional jobs and income to both rural American and Indian communities. The U.S.-India Consortium for Development of Sustainable Advanced Lignocellulosic Biofuel Systems is a collaborative effort between Indian and U.S. institutions under the Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC) initiated by the Governments of India and the United States to accelerate transition to a low-carbon, high-performance and energy-secure economy. The Biofuel Consortium addresses the second generation biofuels R&D priority area of the JCERDC, emphasizing sustainable feedstock cultivation and supply, biochemical conversion technologies for production of second generation biofuels with minimal environmental impact, and analysis of overall sustainability and supply chain of feedstock as well as biofuel. The consortium is jointly led by the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, India and the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.

Second Generation Biofuels

A WorldMuch Greener

INDIA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Lead Institution:Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad

Lead Institution:University of Florida (UF), Gainesville, Florida

Other Partners: Other Partners:

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad;Directorate of Sorghum Research (DSR), Hyderabad;Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad;Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore;Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya (RVSKVV), Gwalior;Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad;Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IITD);Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM)

University of Missouri (UM), Columbia, MO;Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA;Montclair State University (MSU), New

Jersey;Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Industry Partners: Industry Partners:

Abellon Clean Energy Ltd., Ahmedabad;

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL), BangaloreGreen Technologies LLC, Gainesville, FL

CONSORTIUM PARTNERS

Connect • September 2014 54 Connect • September 2014


and breeding tools, and identify locally adapted cultivars and their optimization for large-scale production.

• Develop production logistics and identify soil and environmental criteria to ensure a commercially successful advanced feedstock production system.

Biorefinery Technologies (WP2):The overall goal of this work program is to improve lignocellulosic biomass processing technologies for fermentable sugar production and subsequently their conversion to biofuel. Biofuels targeted are ethanol in India and butanol in the United States. An additional emphasis of this program is on processing and utilization of waste streams for recovery of nutrients, and bio-product production. It is envisioned that this approach would ensure that the biofuel is manufactured with minimal environmental impact and there are additional revenues for the biorefinery. This work program is also well positioned to accelerate deployment of commercial systems both in the U.S.A. and India due to the availability of a pre-commercial scale biorefinery at the University of Florida. Objectives of this work program are to:• Develop biocatalysts for production of

advanced biofuels, and optimize pretreatment and fermentation processes.

• Develop co-products and applications from biorefinery waste streams that minimize environmental impacts and maximize revenues.

Sustainability, marketing and policy (WP3):Despite the significant potential for the expansion of advanced biofuels production in the U.S. and India; the environmental, economic, and social consequences of dramatically increased harvesting of advanced biofuels feedstocks have not been systematically analyzed. This lack of information limits our ability to ensure long-term sustainability of these feedstock practices and forecast sustainable feedstock supply and development of biofuel systems in both these countries. Understanding the sustainability of biofuels supply and demand systems is a critical component for private sector investments and government policy making. Objectives of this work program are to:• Analyze and develop certification protocols

and sustainability standards.• Assess energy requirements and emissions,

and perform economic analysis.• Undertake supply chain management

analysis.

U.S.-INDIA COLLABORATION

The tasks to be accomplished by the center have been neatly divided between participating institutions as under: • University of Missouri to provide technical

help in feedstock matching.• International Crops Research Institute

for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to exchange germplasm and also to provide technical help in developing new flood tolerant sorghum cultivars at the University of Missouri.

• Scale-up and process data from University of Florida cellulosic ethanol biorefinery will be shared with the Indian consortium.

• The ethanol conversion biocatalyst developed at the University of Florida will be shared with the Indian consortium.

• University of Florida cellulosic biorefinery will be available for Indian consortium for training purposes.

• Development of an integrated biorefinery with a focus on effluent treatment and by-product utilization.

• US Consortium members will provide technical help to Indian partners towards development of certification protocols and sustainability standards, energy and emission efficiency, supply chain management, and economic analyses to assess viability of advanced biofuels.

CONSORTIUM MANAGEMENT

The U.S.-India Consortium for Development of Sustainable Advanced Lignocellulosic Biofuel Systems is being led by CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, India, which will be responsible for the smooth functioning of the project to achieve the targets with the help of a three-tier management system including an administrative setup, consortium leader and the individual partnering institutes. The administrative setup comprises of a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and a Project Steering Committee (PSC). The TAC will meet at least once a year (or more if required). The TAC will review the project work execution and render technical inputs to achieve the approved milestones and deliverables. The TAC members include Dr. C.L.L. Gowda (ICRISAT), Dr. B.D. Kulkarni (National Chemical Laboratory), Dr. Pankaj Patel (Abellon Clean Energy), Dr. B. Ramachandran (IIT-Madras) and Dr. K. Ramaswami (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University). The PSC members include Dr. C.L.L. Gowda (ICRISAT), Dr. B.D. Kulkarni (NCL), Dr. Pankaj Patel (Abellon Clean Energy) and Dr. P. Gunasekaran (Thiruvalluvar University). The PSC will meet once a year to review the overall progress and suggest suitable ways to meet the proposed milestones.

The Project Coordinator, Dr. Ahmed Kamal (IICT) will coordinate the project implementation, while the task leads – Dr. P.

Srinivasa Rao (Work Package 1), Dr. C. Ganesh Kumar (Work Package 2), and Dr. Beena Patel (Work Package 3) – will coordinate the execution of the respective Work Packages by closely interacting with the investigators. Each principal investigator is responsible for meeting the deliverables/milestones defined in their respective work package(s). In the U.S., WP1 is led by Dr. Shibu Jose (University of Missouri-Columbia), WP2 is led by Dr. Pratap Pullammanappallil (University of Florida), and WP3 is led by Dr. Janaki Alavalapati (Virginia Tech).

U.S.-India Consortium for Development of Sustainable Advanced Lignocellulosic Biofuel Systems

Connect • September 2014Connect • September 20146

Farmers visiting multi-location trial of Sorghum at RVSKVV, Gwalior

U.S. and Indian scientists of the U.S.-India Consortium for Development of Sustainable Advanced Lignocellulosic Biofuel Systems visit the University of Florida’s Stan Mayfield Biorefinery Pilot Plant, January 29, 2013.

Investigators & Field Staff Training Sessions :

Madhya Pradesh: May 2013 (left) Gujarat: July, 2013 (right)


7

DELIVERABLES

• Locally adapted high biomass abiotic stress tolerant switchgrass, sorghum, pearl millet and bamboo cultivars yielding >18 t/ha dry biomass.

• Low input advanced feedstock production system.

• Optimized pretreatment methods for the above mentioned feedstock.

• Enzyme formulation for saccharification of pretreated feedstock.

• Recombinant biocatalysts for the efficient conversion of saccharified hydrolysates prepared from sorghum, pearl millet and bamboo feedstock to ethanol.

• Recombinant biocatalyst for the conversion of saccharified switchgrass hydrolysate to butyrate.

• Efficient fermentation process for high ethanol and butanol recovery.

• Sustainability standards and certification protocols.

• Energy, emission, economic analysis and supply chain management report for

commercialization of lignocellulosic biofuel production.

ACHIEVEMENTS THUS FAR

Though not too old in terms of the time since it has been in existence, the consortium has already begun to make an impact. Some of the salient achievements till date are listed below :• Two switchgrass and sorghum lines were

identified for high biomass traits and abiotic (drought and flood) stress tolerance in the U.S.

• Small-scale field planting has proven that switchgrass is highly productive on marginal lands compared to corn and soybean.

• Large scale field trials in collaboration with farmers were initiated this summer.

• Genomic-assisted breeding initiated for sorghum and will begin next summer for switchgrass.

• Five sorghum cultivars and three farmer-preferred pearl millet cultivars were identified and distributed to farmers for small scale cultivation on marginal lands of Central, Western and Southern India.

• Multi-location trials for high biomass sorghum and pearl millet are currently in progress at Madhya Pradesh (Khargone, Dewas, Gwalior and Lahar); Gujarat (Modasa, Vithalapara, and Khus); Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore and Bhavanisagar); Karnataka (Gangavathi) Telangana (ICRISAT and DSR) and Andhra Pradesh (ANGRAU, Bapatla)

• Twenty bamboo germplasms were collected, mother plants were established and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) study completed.

• Biomass compositional analysis (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin content) protocols standardized in India to align with methods used by U.S.A. consortium.

• Screening of cultures for celluloytic enzymes and β-glucosidase has been carried out.

• Steam explosion protocol for pretreatment has been standardized. Commercial cellulolytic enzymes have been procured from various

U.S.-India Consortium for Development of Sustainable Advanced Lignocellulosic Biofuel Systems

For more information, please visit :

http://biofuels.ifas.ufl.edu/

CONNECT : So far as US S&T professionals go, you can easily be called an “India Hand”. Please share your insights about the level and range of complementarity that exist between Indian and US S&T ecosystems and how they can be further leveraged to achieve common goals.

Ray Johnson (RJ) : I think there is a lot of commonality between science & technology professionals in India and the United States. Most importantly, they tend to have a great educational foundation. The pathway from invention through innovation requires three components. First, the creativity at the front end to create the invention; second, a solid engineering and science foundation to validate the idea; and third, it takes knowledge of business to mature the discovery into a product or a service. I think the common strings between India and the US are the first two areas. Creativity in ideas, something that’s happening all over India - We see this in DST’s

working, especially in the Indian Innovation Growth Program. We see these ideas come forward from a wide spread of sectors. India’s work in science, its knowledge of science engineering is unmatched.

There is however a bit of divergence on the business side. I think the US has more experience in maturing ideas into businesses. As part of the India Innovation Growth Program, expertise from the Stanford Business School and University of Texas IC2 Institute is brought in to help the innovators learn about the way a business pans out and take their ideas forward.

CONNECT : India and the US have been working as S&T partners for a long time. But there is a view that this relationship has not achieved its full potential yet. What measures can take this association to the next level?

RJ : I think the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) is a

Dr. Ray O. Johnson

Dr. Ray O. Johnson is the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology officer of the lockheed Martin Corporation. dr. Johnson also leads the Corporation’s Advanced Concepts organization and the Center for Innovation, a world-class laboratory for collaborative experimentation and analysis involving lockheed Martin, its customers, and industry partners. As a member of the IUSSTF Governing Board, dr. Johnson continues to provide guidance to IUSSTF in its mandate to play a pivotal role in the US-India Science, Technology and Innovation partnership.

dr. Johnson was recently in India to participate in the Indo-American Frontier of engineering Symposium at Mysore and spoke to Connect about his views on future of Indo-US S&T cooperation.

I N T E R V I E W

The environment between the United States and India has changed enabling a greater flow of information and greater collaboration. The next 60 years will be very different as compared to the last 60 years.”

Contd. on page 39

8 Connect • September 2014 Connect • September 2014 9


good measure. It has created a bilateral environment where we are able to bring together scientists and engineers. Recently I took part in the Frontiers of Engineering symposium at Mysore. There were a large number of US and Indian scientists and engineers together to talk about global problems. I think the environment between the United States and India has changed. It is enabling a greater flow of information and greater collaboration. I guess that the next 60 years will be very different than the last 60 years and we will see an increase in the activities in science and technology exchanges.

CONNECT : Space is one domain where India and US have distinct strengths. What possibilities do you visualize in the medium and longer term horizon?

RJ : I am a member of the International Academy of Astronautics. In that capacity, I have a great opportunity to work with Indian space scientists and see their work. The environment of space research has changed a great deal. While the United States and Russia have dominated this space

for a number of years; what I see happening now is that the number of countries having an interest and those having capabilities/activities in space is increasing. I also see that it is going to be increasingly difficult for any country, including the United States, to go it alone in space without partnerships and collaborations. Therefore, I look forward to more collaboration between India and United States in space research and exploration, taking advantage of mutual strengths and past work in the area. I think that is an area where we can work together, going forward.

CONNECT : DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth program is now in its 8th year. What has been your experience? What will be your suggestions for the future evolution of this program?

RJ : This is a fantastic program! When we started it we had dreams of what it could become. We are now seeing those dreams manifest themselves. A lot of people talk about identifying talent, about creating inclusive platforms, about creating an environment that supports innovations, as innovation cannot be managed and it can only be supported. This program is doing that and has made it real and happening.

Now we have hundreds of entrepreneurs who have been given opportunities to create an idea and negotiate the engineering and science. But the most important part of innovation is to convert it into a viable business. So we bring together all these partners to help train them in various aspects of business and have FICCI connect them with companies globally who are interested in their product or service. This program is working extremely well. What I would like to see going forward is that this ecosystem we have created becomes self-propagating and continues to grow and expand beyond this annual competition. Also, that other such programs get ignited and blossom to create a bigger ecosystem for entrepreneurs in India.

(Contd. on page 18)

NASA’s Kepler mission launched in 2009 (Picture courtesy: NASA)

Indo-US Joint Center for the Analysis of Variable Star

StarrySkies

Apart from twinkling due to the effects of our atmosphere, stars appear fixed and constant to the untrained eye. Careful observations, some even done with the naked eye, show that some stars do in fact appear to change in brightness over time. Some exhibit periodic behaviour, brightening quickly then diminishing in brightness slowly only to repeat themselves. With some, these changes take place over several days whilst with others they occur in a matter of hours or many months. other stars exhibit a once-off dramatic change in brightness by orders of magnitude before fading away to obscurity.

A variable star is a star that changes its brightness by some detectable amount over the interval of observations. In fact, all stars are variable at some level of precision, over some timescale.

Intrinsically variable stars or pulsating variables change their brightness due to internal physics and not, for example, due to external causes such as binarity. Pulsating variables are themselves separated into radial (the entire stellar envelope oscillates coherently, e.g Cepheids or RR Lyraes) or non-radial pulsators (different parts of the stellar envelope are moving in different directions, e.g. our Sun).

In recent years, mainly due to large surveys associated with extra-solar planet searches (OGLE III, Kepler, MACHO, EROS), a significant amount of high quality data on pulsating variables has become available. These new publicly available data demand intensive detailed analysis using modern statistical and numerical methods.

While creativity, hard-work and a solid foundation in science and mathematics are a given; I encourage young scientists to expand their knowledge of business to be able to take their ideas into the market place so that they can be a part of the movement to solve global challenges.”

10 Connect • September 2014

Interview : Ray O. Johnson

11Connect • September 2014

F E AT U R E

Cepheids are young, high metallicity, bright objects that trace spiral galaxy disks. RR Lyraes are old, low metallicity objects that are found in galaxy halos. Both types of stars are predominantly radial pulsators. Brightness of these stars varies very regularly with periods of the order of hours (RR Lyraes) to days (Cepheids). Such stars are products of both the theory of stellar evolution and stellar pulsation. They are therefore important test beds in stellar astrophysics.

Comparing the structure of their observed light curves to theory provides an important way to constrain theories of stellar pulsation and evolution. Further the Cepheid Period-Luminosity (PL) relation is of fundamental importance in determining a size-scale for the Universe that is independent of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB).

The overall goal of the Indo-US Joint Center for the Analysis of Variable Star Data is to use modern statistical and numerical methods to rigorously analyze these data. More specifically:

• Investigate the use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in the analysis of variable star data – especially for Cepheids and RR Lyraes.

• Investigate the application of Fourier methods in the analysis of Cepheid and RR Lyrae data

to astrophysics problems such as the distance scale

• Analyze Cepheid Period-Luminosity relations in the infra-red and apply these relations to the extra-galactic distance scale. These relations have traditionally been in the optical. There are good reasons to move to the infrared: the PL relation scatter and metallicity effects are reduced and the effect of any possible non-linearities are diminished.

• Analyze variable star data from the CSTAR Antarctic data – such data have unprecedented coverage over the Antarctic night. Initial analysis has concentrated on RR Lyraes and Blazhko RR Lyraes in the CSTAR data.

• Use recent Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMS/SMC) Cepheid and RR Lyrae variable star data to study the structure of the Magellanic Clouds.

PersonnelThe Joint Center combines experts in the field from several areas, stellar pulsation theory and the extra-galactic distance scale with experience across a range of wavelengths and knowledge of state-of-the-art methods in statistics. This group has access to many large published and unpublished datasets.

An initial visit by the US Principal Investigator to Delhi University and IUCAA, Pune in November 2013 developed some more specific initial projects. A further visit in January 2014 by the US Principal Investigator and one US Co-Principal Investigator, together with some US students, made progress on these projects.

The Indian Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator, together with one post-doc researcher and one graduate student visited SUNY Oswego for an extended period in December 2013.

Collaboration January 2014 was also noteworthy in that there was a joint meeting between two IUSSTF Joint Centers - the variable star group and the CLASS ACT group (who

seek to develop new ways to automatically classify astronomical transients arising from future LSST observations). This has led to a number of potential collaborative projects including:

• PCA to classify variable star types and oscillation mode when only a sparsely sampled light curve is available

• Sleppian wavelets to study Cepheids and RR Lyraes.

• Conditional entropy to search for Cepheid periods in Cepheid HST data

• An analysis of several RR Lyrae stars that appear to change mode – the metalliciy of these stars cannot change during the mode change. Hence these stars form a stringent testbed that connect variable star light curve structure to physical parameters such as metallicity and absolute brightness.

• A Cepheid JHK PL relation distance to M31 using PHAT data

• Analysis of Sloan Digital Sky Survey RR Lyraes with collaborators at the National Central University, Taiwan

Current Projects Other ongoing work in the project includes:• The development of a JHK Cepheid PL relation

for the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) that will have significantly lower dispersion and hence, when combined with recent highly accurate absolute calibrations of the LMC distance will provide a precise calibrating Cepheid PL relation

• A Galactic JHK Cepheid PL relation and its application in the distance scale – this project gathers published Galactic Cepheid JHK data to formulate another approach to the extra-galactic distance scale

• A JHK Cepheid PL relation based distance to M31 using PHAT data and our own newly calibrated LMC and Galactic PL relations

• An analysis of Ultra-Long Period Cepheids – these objects are of interest because of their extreme brightness and their potential as Cepheids which potentially obey a different PL relation to standard shorter period Cepheids

• An analysis of Cepheid light curve structure as a function of wavelength – this project has shown some interesting differences between the light curve structure at wavelengths longer than

Group at a joint meeting in India in January 2014

Standing from L to R: Shivam Arora, Anupam Bhardwaj, Shashi Kanbur,

Harinder Singh, Ranjan Gupta, Aniruddha Dey

Sitting from L to R : Sukanta Deb, Subhash Kumar, Earl Bellinger,

Ryan Oelker, Rachel Wagner-Kaiser

Light curve of a Cepheid Variable Star in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) taken from OGLE (Optical Gravita-

tional Lensing Experiment) database. P is the period of pulsation in days.

Shashi M. KanburState University of

New York at Osewgo

Lucas MacriTexas A&M University

College Station

Ata SarajdeniUniversity of Florida

Gainesville

TEAM UNITED STATES TEAM INDIA

Harinder P. SinghUniversity of Delhi

Ranjan GuptaIUCAA, Pune

Newsletter of IUSSTFIndo-US Joint Center for the Analysis of Variable Star

Connect • September 201412 Connect • September 2014 13

the Johnson J Band. It will also provide strong constraints for theoretical stellar pulsation models

• Period-Color and Amplitude-Color relations for fundamental and first overtone Cepheids. This project will study observations consequences of the interaction of the stellar photosphere and hydrogen ionization front in Cepheids and RR Lyraes.

• A study of nonlinearities in Cepheid PL relations using LMC/SMC OGLE III data – we have confirmed a strong non-linearity at short periods in LMC Cepheid first overtone data. Again this project will provide a strong constraint to theories of stellar pulsation and evolution since such models will have to reproduce these observational findings.

• A PCA of Kepler RR Lyrae light curve data and an investigation of possible relations between PCA and metallicity. Recent work has linked the structure of RR Lyrae light curves, as characterized by Fourier decomposition to metallicity. This project has started to develop such connections between PCA and metallicity.

• A study of PCAC relations with RR Lyraes observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

• The development of PCA to implement a template light curve scheme for RR Lyraes that can be useful when a RR Lyrae light curve is poorly sampled. PCA is the natural approach to variable star templates and have proven to be very successful in the case of Cepheids

• Neural Network based classification of variable stars. Using OGLE III data, we are investigating the use of neural networks, support vector machines and a number of other automated machine learning methods to classify variable stars without human intervention.

Preliminary results have been presented at the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute Workshop on the Extra-Galactic Distance Scale, February 2014, the American Astronomical Society Meeting in June 2014 and the invitation only Extra-Galactic Distance Scale Workshop at the Munich Institute for Astronomy and Astro Particle Physics in June 2014. l

Indo-US Joint Center for the Analysis of Variable Star

Connect • September 201414

Period luminosity relations in the Near Infrared J, H, K bands for LMC Cepheids (taken from a paper under preparation by the group)

Metallicity [Fe/H] as a function of period determined from the light curve analysis of more than 13,000 RR Lyrae variables in the LMC. The three regions marked by I, II and III correspond to the stars with

[Fe/H] ≥ −1.35 dex, −1.80 < [Fe/H] < −1.35 dex and [Fe/H] ≤ −1.80 dex, respectively (from Deb & Singh, 2014).


15Connect • September 2014

For program information contact:

For application format and guidelines please visit: www.iusstf.com & www.indousstf.org

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 15 November 2014

The Viterbi-India Program

is envisaged to:

•

Indian students to gain exposure and access to

world class research facilities in the Viterbi School.

• Promote research and capacity building in

frontline areas of engineering and technology.

• Encourage outstanding students to take up

research as a career.

• Pave the way for the next generation engineers

from India to interact with American peers, thus

help building long-term R&D linkages and

collaborations.

Provide an opportunity to the best and brightest

VITERBI-INDIA PROGRAMThe Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California (USC) and the Indo-US Science and

Technology Forum (IUSSTF) have partnered to support the Viterbi-India Program. This program will provide

opportunities to Indian students to undertake a research internship at the Viterbi School of Engineering in

summer 2015 for a period of 8 weeks.

Eligibility:

Scholarship includes:

•

Masters degree at recognized institutions of higher

education in India.

• Open to students of Electrical Engineering,

Computer Sciences and Computational Sciences.

• Stipend

• Airfare

Indian students currently pursuing a Bachelors or

Dr. Nishritha BopanaIndo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF)12, Hailey Road, Fulbright House, New Delhi-110001,E-mail: [email protected]

Prof. Cauligi RaghavendraUSC Viterbi School of EngineeringUniversity of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA 90089E-mail: [email protected]





is envisaged to:

•










collaborations.






Eligibility:


•


education in India.



• Stipend

• Airfare









is envisaged to:

•










collaborations.






Eligibility:


•


education in India.



• Stipend

• Airfare





The Solution The team aims to improve eye-care through QuickSee - an innovative, inexpensive, handheld device that quickly prescribes corrective eyeglasses with the click of a button. While maintaining the current standard of care, this device will enable a ten-fold reduction in the time needed to measure an eye for corrective eyeglasses and can be used by technicians with minimal training. This disruptive technology breaks the tradeoff between price and training requirements that prohibits current devices from improving the prescription process in low-resource settings.

The Problem More than 1 billion people worldwide are suffering from poor vision because they do not have the prescription eyeglasses they need. A major barrier to obtaining eyeglasses in low-resource settings is getting an accurate prescription. There is an acute shortage of trained optometrists to prescribe eyeglasses and current technologies for measuring a prescription requires intensive training to use or are too expensive for widespread use.

The Solution The team intends to commercialize a proprietary novel seed treatment called BioEnsure which contains a mixture of beneficial fungal endophytes designed to improve the tolerance of plants to abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity and temperature. BioEnsure is developed by harnessing the natural symbiotic microbe which enables broad-spectrum of agricultural crops to flourish under areas of drought, extreme temperatures and saline soils. The team intends to test and deploy this product in India besides also isolating native strains that would optimize the efficiency of final product.

The Problem Only 9% of the planet landmass is conducive for crop production, while 91% is under abiotic and biotic stresses (drought, salinity, temperature) which are further likely to increase due to land degradation, urbanization and climate change. The global population is continuously expected to increase and agricultural production must increase to ensure food security. However due to climate change, the scenario has become much more hostile for sustained agricultural production. Approximate 67% of Indian land is rain-fed and crops invariably experience droughts of different magnitudes. In addition, irrigated crop production in India is largely constrained by heat stress.

development of a low-cost, portable

auto-refractor

Lead U.S. Partner

Shivang r. dave Plenoptika, Somerville

Lead U.S. Partner

rusty rodriguez Adaptive Symbiotic

Technologies, Seattle

Lead India Partner

Sriram ravillaAurolab, Madurai

Lead India Partner

Anup Karwa SFPl Crop life

Sciences Private limited Krishidhan Seeds, Jalna

developing novel biological seed treatments to confer

abiotic stress tolerance in crops

United States–India Science & Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF) has been setup to promote joint activities that can lead to innovation and entrepreneurship through application of science and technology. The Fund supports and fosters joint applied R&D to generate public goods through the commercialization of technology developed through sustained partnerships between U.S. and Indian researchers and entrepreneurs. These initiatives can originate from government, academic, non-governmental or commercial entities, and any combination thereof provided they focus on applied R&D, incorporate a business plan and proof of commercial concept, and have significant sustainable commercial potential.

R E P O R T

Lead U.S. Partner

Mike German WIST, Inc, Brighton

Lead India Partner

Abhijeet Gan rite Water Solutions (I) Pvt. ltd.

nagpur

The Solution Drinkwell is a for-profit social enterprise poised to transform this water crisis into an economic opportunity by blending a novel, locally-sourced Donnan principle-based arsenic and fluoride adsorbent (Donna-AFSorb) with a micro-franchise business model providing appropriate community-based or domestic water filters to villagers. A second-generation, multi-contaminant adsorbent has been developed that can be locally produced. The synthesis of Donna-AFSorb has been optimized at the lab-scale for treatment of arsenic, fluoride, phosphate, nitrate, selenite and uranium.

The Problem Over 100 million people across 18 of India’s 23 states experience arsenic and fluoride poisoning by drinking contaminated groundwater, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people suffering from cancers, bone deformities, and early death. The World Health Organization calls the crisis the “largest mass poisoning in human history.”

Transforming arsenic and fluoride crisis in drinking water into an economic

enterprise

TIME FOR INNOVATION

XIIXI

X

III

United States - India Science & Technology endowment Fund : Fourth Call Awardees



The Solution Re-Materials has developed an innovative low cost modular roofing tile for local slum housing based on compressed recycled cardboard. These tiles significantly improve household quality of life and can be sold at a much lower price than concrete, filling a market gap. If developed, families would have an affordable roofing option that is attractive, aspirational, robust, quick to install, easy to transport, safer and still strong enough to support several adults.

The Problem The majority of the houses in slums have inadequate roofs made of corrugated metal, asbestos cement sheets, or clay tiles. The families suffer from unbearably hot living spaces, high maintenance costs, frequent leaks, difficult installation, and a high risk of injury if the house collapses.

Lead U.S. Partner

Shashi Buluswar lIGTT Corporation, oakland

Lead India Partner

Hasit Ganatra re-Materials, Ahmedabad

Commercializing a transformational modular

roofing solution for low-income urban homes

CONNECT : You have been associated with the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum as a member of its Governing Board for quite some time now. India and the United States are two large countries with diverse needs. How do you think IUSSTF can make itself more relevant to these growing needs in the times to come?

RJ : Firstly, I am proud to be a part of IUSSTF’s Governing Board and the organization and supporting its goals, going forward. Having said that, I feel that we can continue to expand the surface area of involvement, i.e. invite more young scientists, like we did at the Frontiers of Engineering symposium in Mysore to get more people involved.

The Governing Boards are important and they can help create a suitable environment and come up with ideas. But they are only a starting place. What we need to do is to create an environment where many people can take part. Much like we have at the DST Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program. You initiate a program from an idea that springs out of Board’s activities, becomes self igniting, moves out and in turn ignites other similar

initiatives and become a self propagating movement. We ought to be looking for ways to further expansion and beyond the direct activities of the board that IUSSTF takes off on its own steam.

CONNECT : India is a country with a very young population and that also applies to the large number of people entering the S&T Sector. Is there any message to the S&T professionals in India?

RJ : The message that I would like to give is that the opportunities you will face going forward are unlimited. The global challenges you will solve are unsolved today. While creativity, hard-work and a solid foundation in science and mathematics are a given; I will especially encourage them to expand their knowledge of business to be able to take their ideas into the market place so that they can be a part of the movement to solve these global challenges. Finally, many of these challenges are interdisciplinary. So expanding your mind and opening yourself to diverse approaches and cultivating an ability to work with others ideas is going to be critical. l

(Contd. from page 10)Dr. Ray O. Johnson

Time for Innovation



www.iusstf.comwww.indousstf.org

To nurture future innovators and thought leaders,

the Science & Engineering Board (SERB),

Department of Science and Technology (DST),

Govt. of India, the Indo-U.S. Science and

Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and the University

of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) have partnered to

develop a dynamic and transformative student

exchange program between premier institutions in

India and the United States. The program is named in

honor of Satyendra Nath Bose (1894 - 1974), a

visionary Indian physicist best known for his work on

quantum mechanics in the early 1920s. The class of

particles that obey Bose-Einstein statistics, Bosons,

was named after him.

¡

¡

¡

¡

provide an opportunity to Indian

students to experience world-class

research facilities in leading U.S.

institutions;

encourage and motivate students

to take up research as a career;

pave the way for the next

generation of pioneers and

innovators in science and

technology to interact with each

other, and;

build long-term R&D linkages and

collaborations cutting across

boundaries around the globe.

¡

¡

¡

Stipend

Accommodation

Air-fare

For program information contact:Dr. Nishritha Bopana

Indo-US Science andTechnology Forum

Fulbright House, 12, Hailey Road,New Delhi - 110001,

E-mail: [email protected]

¡

¡

Indian citizens currently pursuing a Bachelors or

Masters' degree at a recognized institution of higher

education and learning in India.

Open to students of Atmospheric and Earth Sciences;

Chemical Sciences; Engineering Sciences; Mathematical

and Computational Sciences; and, Physical Sciences.

ELIGIBILITY:

SCHOLARSHIP INCLUDES:

THE PROGRAM IS ENVISAGED TO:

Department of Science & TechnologyGovt. of India

Submission Deadline:31 October 2014

SCH LARSS.N. Bose

P R O G R A M

www.iusstf.orgwww.indousstf.org

Text Courtesy: Office of the Spokesperson, U.S. Department of State, Washington DC

The two sides recognized that the decisive mandate provided by the Indian people to their new Government provided a unique opportunity to re-energize this relationship. They expressed confidence that the Summit Meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama in Washington D.C. in September 2014 would generate new dynamism in the relationship.

Faced by a common threat from terrorism, including in South Asia, the two leaders committed to intensify efforts to combat terrorism, proliferation of WMDs, nuclear terrorism, cross-border crime, and address the misuse of the internet for terrorist purposes, in compliance with respective laws. The two leaders welcomed the continuation of the Counter-Terrorism Joint Working Group process, sustained exchanges of senior experts, and the upcoming meeting of the Working Group in 2014. They also welcomed plans to hold the next Ministerial Homeland Security Dialogue. They agreed to have their Central Authorities meet to discuss ways to improve mutual legal assistance and extradition processes. They also agreed to work towards greater cooperation in cyber security and reducing cyber crime.

The two leaders reviewed efforts since November 2010 toward India’s phased entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group. Secretary Kerry reaffirmed the United States’ support for India’s membership in these groups and welcomed India’s recent decision to ratify its Additional Protocol with the IAEA. The two leaders supported an early conclusion to these efforts.

Secretary Kerry welcomed raised foreign investment ceilings in several sectors of the Indian economy, including defense, railways, e-commerce and insurance. The two sides agreed to identify specific areas for investment in India’s manufacturing and infrastructure sectors including through establishing a new initiative in this regard. They also sought to empower the India-U.S. CEO Forum to build a better business environment.

Minister Swaraj and Secretary Kerry resolved to discuss bilateral trade and economic concerns in a spirit of partnership, including at the Ministerial Trade Policy Forum in India that both governments hope to convene in Fall 2014, focusing on key trade and investment issues. The two sides plan to expand the Commercial Dialogue. They also agreed that India would

host the next round of the High Technology Cooperation Group on mutually convenient dates this year.

Minister Swaraj welcomed the United States as a partner country, for the first time, at India’s annual Technology Summit in November 2014. The leaders looked forward to the convening of the next bilateral Joint Science & Technology Committee meeting immediately preceding that event. Secretary Kerry welcomed India’s commitment to the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) including in the areas of anti-microbial resistance and immunization.

The Leaders welcomed work under the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE) in its Research and Deployment components. They reviewed the new initiative on Promoting Energy Access through Clean Energy (PEACE) in bringing Indian citizens in rural areas access to off-grid sources of clean energy. They welcomed outcomes facilitated by the


Connect • September 2014 21Connect • September 201420

Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Centre in solar technologies, second generation biofuels and energy efficient buildings. They also intend to scale-up existing initiatives on space cooling, to reduce demand for power for air-conditioning.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the full implementation of the India -U.S. civil nuclear agreement. They welcomed the Authorization to Proceed provided to Westing house to implement the pre-Early Works Agreement with NPCIL as of September 2013. Both sides urged NPCIL and U.S. companies Westing house and General Electric-Hitachi to expedite the necessary work to conclude pricing and contractual details. They looked forward to advancing the government-to-government dialogue and facilitating the establishment of U.S.-built nuclear power plants in India.

The leaders also welcomed progress in the bilateral dialogue

on nuclear safety, nuclear security regulatory processes, the establishment of India’s Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP), and projects in fundamental physics. They urged expedited agreements and arrangements to facilitate Indian participation in the High Intensity Superconducting Proton Accelerator Project, the Thirty Meter Telescope, Monsoon studies, and Joint Oceanic surveys. The leaders appreciated India joining the Partnership for International Research and Education (PIRE) program of the U.S. National Science Foundation, which will facilitate support for high-quality research projects across identified disciplines.

The Minister and the Secretary welcomed civil space cooperation between India and the United States in Earth Observation, Space Exploration and Satellite Navigation. New focus areas could include joint realization of dual frequency microwave satellite for earth observation and launch services. Both sides plan to continue discussions on space security in 2014, to include areas of mutual interest such as space situational awareness and collision avoidance.

The two sides identified education and skills development as an important area of future cooperation. They called for partnerships between Indian and U.S. testing services institutions to improve nation-wide student assessments in India.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work towards a successful outcome in Paris in 2015 of the work of the Ad-hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The two sides convened the first round of bilateral consultations under the India-U.S. Joint Working Group on Climate Change, continuing their enhanced dialogue on an ambitious climate change agreement for the post-2020 period, and strengthening bilateral efforts in the areas of clean technology, smart grid, energy efficiency, adaptation strategies, sustainable forestry and REDD+ issues.

The two leaders encouraged Departments and Ministries on both sides to continue to evolve ambitious plans to further the partnership. Secretary Kerry thanked Minister Swaraj for hosting the fifth Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi. They agreed to convene the next round in the United States in 2015.

Fifth India-U.S. Strategic Dialogueexcerpts from the Joint Statement

31 July 2014

External Affairs Minister of India Sushma Swaraj and Secretary of State John F. Kerry led their respective delegations to the fifth annual India-U.S. Strategic Dialogue.

The fifth Indo-American Frontiers of Engineering (IAFOE) Symposium was convened by the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) as its annual flagship event in partnership with the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) from May 18th to 21st at the Infosys Campus in Mysore, India. About 60 outstanding engineers under the age of 45 met to discuss cutting-edge developments in four areas: Biomaterials, Water Resource Management in the Face of Climate Change, Green Approaches to Communications, and Engineering in the Context of Big Data. The event facilitates international and cross-disciplinary research collaboration, promotes the transfer of new techniques and approaches across disparate engineering fields, and encourages the creation of a transatlantic network of world-class engineers.

The IAFOE began with welcome and opening remarks by Venkatesh Narayanamurti (Foreign Secretary, US National Academy Engineering), Ray O. Johnson (Chief Technology Officer,

Lockheed Martin Corporation), Rajiv Sharma (Executive Director, Indo-US Science and Technology Forum), Indian Co-Chair Upadrasta Ramamurty (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore) and US Co-Chair Lisa Alvarez-Cohen (University of California, Berkeley).

Session I: The first session on Green approaches to communications was co-chaired by Kirk W. Cameron (Virginia Tech) and Kumar N. Sivarajan (Tejas Networks Ltd.). They flagged four new approaches in wireless networks: Power-optimized mobile handsets, Energy-efficient cellular architectures, Software power management and Energy harvesting in wireless sensors. The first speaker was Vijay Janapa Reddi (University of Texas at Austin) who spoke about Mobile Processor Architectures: Design Implications and Challenges for Energy Efficiency. Radhakrishna Ganti (Indian Institute of Technology Madras) spoke about Energy Efficiency in Cellular Networks. Joseph Turner (Miser Ware) gave a talk about the Challenges



Indo-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium - 2014 5th Indo-American FOE SymposiumCo-Chairs

Upadrasta RamamurtyIndian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Lisa Alvarez-CohenUniversity of California, Berkeley

Convergence from

Dialogue

25

spoke about the Intersection of healthcare, drug discovery, and big data. Kiri Wagstaff (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) spoke about modeling the human, not the data, to facilitate discovery in her talk on Facilitating discovery in big data sets.

Session IV: The session on Biomaterials was co-chaired by Debra Auguste (City College of New York) and Ashok Raichur (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore). Dhirendra Katti (Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur) began the session with a talk on Glimpses into the exciting world of biomaterials through drug delivery systems. Rinti Banerjee (Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai) spoke about Stimuli responsive lipid and biopolymeric biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering. Suzie Pun (University of Washington) gave a presentation on Biomaterials for targeted drug delivery. Taking the learnings from the previous talks and sessions forward – the final talk of the symposium was presented by John Santini (Apo Gen Biotechnologies) on

Transforming biomaterials with novel therapies - from science to entrepreneurial start-ups. He spoke about entrepreneurship and startups; what makes an entrepreneur; and the– key ingredients and lessons to keep in mind while starting a company.

In addition to the technical talks given at the symposium, attendees had the opportunity to present their work in an afternoon poster session on May 19th. These posters were displayed throughout the meeting and provided an opportunity for every participant to share information about his/her work. Baldev Raj (President, Indian National Academy of Engineering) gave a Pre-Dinner Speech titled A Perspective on Technological Challenges in India.

Another unique dimension of the IAFOE Symposium is the Frontiers of Engineering Awards that have been instituted by IUSSTF. The award consists of USD 10,000 to be shared between the partnering Indian and American awardees, spread over a period of two years. l

and Opportunities in Mobile Software Power Management. Neelesh Mehta (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore) ended the session with a talk on Energy Harvesting-Based Green Wireless Communication Systems.

Session II: The session on Water resources management in the face of climate change was co-chaired by Sharad Jain (National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee) and Mark Tompkins (New Fields). The co-chairs highlighted the fact that although the earth is a blue planet, accessibility to water is affected due to several reasons such as remoteness, inability to store seasonal flows, socio-political preferences and capacity etc. The lead speaker in the session was V. V. Srinivas (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore) who gave a talk on Climate change causes and hydrologic predictive capabilities. Balaji Narasimhan (Indian Institute of Technology, Madras) spoke about the Emerging water resources modeling technologies to understand climate change impacts on various sectors and develop

adaptation strategies. Kristin Gilroy (US Army Corps of Engineers) presented the Interactions and adaptations of natural and constructed elements of water resources systems. Finally, Peter Wijsman (Arcadis) spoke about Adapting to rising tides with the power of information technology – San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

Session III: Jennifer Dy (Northeastern University) and Sriram Raghavan (IBM-India) co-chaired the session on Engineering in the context of big data. Keeping in mind the facts that manufacturing is a $2 Trillion sector, discrete manufacturing provides products for consumers and the supply chain, there is a high potential for productivity improvement, and manufacturing generates a very large amount of data; Athulan Vijayaraghavan (System Insights) spoke about the Internet of Manufacturing Things. Pankaj Dayama (IBM Research) gave a talk on Predictive analytics for industrial applications. Nirmal Keshava (Astra Zeneca)

2424 Connect • September 201424 Connect • September 2014 Connect • September 2014 25

Newsletter of IUSSTFIndo-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium - 2014

TEAM India was made up of students who were winners at the Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS) a research based science fair initiative for school students held in India annually. IRIS is a public – private partnership heralded by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Intel Education for empowering the next generation of innovators. These students came from all across the country and were selected after a rigorous process of support camps and various elimination rounds. Each of the students was a scientist and an innovator and had to their credit a unique idea developed into science experiment/research/remedy aimed at making our planet a better place for all.

Over the years, several of the young geniuses who went to ISEF as part of team India, have won various Grand Awards for their innovative projects. This year ISEF 2014 was held from 12- 17 May 2014 at Los Angeles wherein 12 Indian projects participated and after competing with more than 1700 participating science and research projects from 78 countries, won 13 special and Grand Awards for themselves and for the country.

WinnersAbhishek Verma and Daksh Dua made India extremely proud by bagging three top coveted awards, the Intel ISEF Best of Subject Category Award (cash prize 5000 US$); Intel ISEF First Grand Award (cash prize 3000 US$) and Intel Foundation Cultural and Scientific Visit to China Award (an 11-day trip to the Chinese cities of Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai along with attending China Adolescent Science and Technology Innovation Contest, the largest national science competition in China). These two geniuses are from Maharaja Agrasain Public School, Delhi. Their project was in the Animal Science category and shows how Rubus ellipticus is an effective solution against Giardiasis. Apart from the awards mentioned above, Abhishek Verma and Daksh Dua will also get a minor planet named after each one of them as part of the ISEF First Grand Award.

In the award tally for Team India, the fourth and fifth awards were won by Deeksha P.

Hebbar from Vivekananda English Medium School Puttur, Karnataka. She won the Intel ISEF Fourth Grand Award (Cash prize 500 US$) and a Special award from Ashtavadhani Vidwan Ambati Subbaraya Chetty Foundation (Cash prize 500 US$). Her research project, in the category of Animal Sciences, was aimed at developing an effective treatment for Cattle Dermatitis by using Cashew Tree (Anacardium occidentale).

Team India’s sixth and seventh awards came when Shreya Nandy and Kopal Gupta won Intel ISEF Fourth Grand Award (Cash prize 500 US$) and Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives award (cash prize US $2500 & trip to Arizona, USA). They are from Amity International School, New Delhi, and have developed a Unique Kit for detection and removal of pesticides and insecticides from the surface of fruits and vegetables.

‘TEAM India 2014’ - 18 young geniuses went on a special science & technology journey from 11 – 22 May 2014 to the United States of America. During these 2 weeks, TEAM India participated and competed at the Intel®

International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), Los Angeles, USA - the world’s largest pre-collegiate high school science research competition, and became a part of a week-long exposure trip to science, research and technology based activities in museums, universities, high schools along with meeting

Nobel laureates, eminent scientists and scholars.

TEAM India was flagged off by Dr. T. Ramasami, Former Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and United States’ Former Ambassador to India, Ms. Nancy J. Powell. Before leaving for the United States, TEAM India got an opportunity to meet and interact with Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India on 9 May 2014 at his residence.

Making India Proud

TEAM India 2014 members with Dr. T Ramasami (then Secretary DST) & Ms. Nancy Powell (then the US Ambassador)

A TEAM India 2014 explaining her project idea to a guest on the side-lines of the flag-off ceremony.

Connect • September 2014 27



Intel® International Science and Engineering Fair

Animesh Tripathi from Sanskriti School, New Delhi got Team India its eighth and ninth awards at ISEF 2014. Animesh’s research project was in the Computer Science category and won two awards – Intel ISEF Fourth Grand Award (Cash prize 500 US$) and Google CS Connect Award (Cash Prize 5000 US$). His project was on Optimizing digital content for color-blind audiences enhancement algorithms by 7.

TEAM India’s tenth award came when Amrit Sahu from DAV Public School, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, won the - Intel ISEF Fourth Grand Award (Cash prize 500 US$) for his project VOICE-O-NATOR - An aid for the speech impaired in the category of engineering - electrical and mechanical.

Jaya Sagar from Government Senior Secondary School, Manali, Himachal Pradesh made India proud by getting the eleventh and twelfth awards for Team India. She got the Intel ISEF Fourth Grand Award (Cash prize 500 US$) and a Special award from Ashtavadhani Vidwan Ambati Subbaraya Chetty Foundation (Cash prize 500 US$) for her project in the Plant Science category. Her research project showcased

how Brassica juncea (Mustard) flowers can be used to attract pollinators for better Malus domestica (Apple) yield.

Debapratim Jana from South Point High School, Kolkata, West Bengal, added the thirteenth award for Team India. His project - Promising alternative materials for solar cell development was in the category of engineering: materials and bioengineering and got a special award from patent and trademark office society (Cash prize 500 US$).

TEAM India visit post ISEF 2014 ‘Team India’ also got an opportunity to become the first set of ISEF India Finalists to get an additional 5-day exposure visit after ISEF in the United States. Team India received an immersive experience of the scientific and the entrepreneurial culture of the US. During these 5 days, the students visited some of the best universities, science museums; interacted with scientists at University of Southern California, school education practitioners and students of same age group at Lynbrook High school; participated in various hands on activities at the Exploratorium, California Academy of Sciences, NASA’s Ames Research Center and Maker Faire at San Mateo, California, USA. This visit was jointly organized by the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) in partnership with DST and Intel. Such an exposure encouraged students and created excitement of creative pursuits of STEM education and motivated young students to undertake research in the frontier areas of science & technology and also developed a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. The site visits, not only showcased the scientific landscape of the US, but also provided an opportunity to the students to assimilate a wider perspective for future studies and possibilities of participating in collaborative research programs. The grand finale of the trip was a reception at the residence of Mr. N. Parthasarathi, the Consulate General of India, San Francisco. Team India eagerly shared their experiences and their views on and discussed about opportunities in India and USA. l

TEAM India 2014 with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India


Newsletter of IUSSTFIntel® International Science and Engineering Fair

Website: www.iusstf.com / www.indousstf.org


Indo-US Science and Technology ForumFulbright House, 12, Hailey Road, New Delhi - 110001, E-mail: [email protected]

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 15 NOVEMBER 2014

Bhaskara Advanced

EligibilityThe applicant should have a letter of acceptance from a reputed U.S. scientific/technological institution where he/she would undertake the research work under the Fellowship/Internship.

Place of work

¡provide an opportunity to the best and brightest Indian students and scientists to gain exposure and access to world class research facilities in leading U.S. institutions;

¡promote research and capacity building in the frontline area of Solar Energy;

¡encourage and motivate outstanding students to take up research as a career path; and

¡pave the way for the next generation scientists and technologists from India to interact with American peers, thus helping to build long-term R&D linkages and collaborations.

The Program is envisaged to:

¡Monthly Stipend ¡ Air-fare ¡Contingency allowance

Fellowship/Internship includes

¡Internship: Minimum 3 months and upto 6 months

¡Fellowship: Minimum 3 months and upto 12 months

Duration

¡Solar Photovoltaics

¡Solar Thermal

¡Grid Interaction including Smart Grids

¡Energy storage

¡System Development and Integration

¡Other (any other related area in Solar Energy)

Broad categories for Research (indicative list)


FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Recognizing that climate change, clean and efficient energy and environmental protection are among the biggest challenges facing India and the United States; the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India through its Solar Energy Research Initiative, and the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) are committed to tackling these issues by building capacity in these frontier areas.

To nurture future innovators and thought leaders in Solar Energy, the Bhaskara Advanced Solar Energy (BASE) Fellowship Program - a dynamic and transformative program has been developed to foster contacts between students and scientists from India and the United States.

For Student Internships

¡Indian citizens currently pursuing a Ph.D. on a full-time basis in the field of Solar Energy in a public-funded R&D lab/S&T institution (non-private) / recognized academic institute / university / college in India;

¡Age: Upto 32 years as on 31 December 2014

For Fellowships

¡Indian citizens with a Ph.D. in Science, Engineering or Technology

¡Applicants must provide proof of independent research work in internationally recognized academic journals.

¡Open only to applicants working in the field of Solar Energy


¡A permanent position in a public funded R&D lab/S&T institution (non-private)/recognized universities/ colleges in India.

Website: www.iusstf.com / www.indousstf.org


Indo-US Science and Technology ForumFulbright House, 12, Hailey Road, New Delhi - 110001, E-mail: [email protected]

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 15 NOVEMBER 2014

Bhaskara Advanced

EligibilityThe applicant should have a letter of acceptance from a reputed U.S. scientific/technological institution where he/she would undertake the research work under the Fellowship/Internship.

Place of work

¡provide an opportunity to the best and brightest Indian students and scientists to gain exposure and access to world class research facilities in leading U.S. institutions;

¡promote research and capacity building in the frontline area of Solar Energy;

¡encourage and motivate outstanding students to take up research as a career path; and

¡pave the way for the next generation scientists and technologists from India to interact with American peers, thus helping to build long-term R&D linkages and collaborations.

The Program is envisaged to:

¡Monthly Stipend ¡ Air-fare ¡Contingency allowance

Fellowship/Internship includes

¡Internship: Minimum 3 months and upto 6 months

¡Fellowship: Minimum 3 months and upto 12 months

Duration

¡Solar Photovoltaics

¡Solar Thermal

¡Grid Interaction including Smart Grids

¡Energy storage

¡System Development and Integration

¡Other (any other related area in Solar Energy)

Broad categories for Research (indicative list)


FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Recognizing that climate change, clean and efficient energy and environmental protection are among the biggest challenges facing India and the United States; the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India through its Solar Energy Research Initiative, and the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) are committed to tackling these issues by building capacity in these frontier areas.

To nurture future innovators and thought leaders in Solar Energy, the Bhaskara Advanced Solar Energy (BASE) Fellowship Program - a dynamic and transformative program has been developed to foster contacts between students and scientists from India and the United States.

For Student Internships

¡Indian citizens currently pursuing a Ph.D. on a full-time basis in the field of Solar Energy in a public-funded R&D lab/S&T institution (non-private) / recognized academic institute / university / college in India;


For Fellowships

¡Indian citizens with a Ph.D. in Science, Engineering or Technology

¡Applicants must provide proof of independent research work in internationally recognized academic journals.

¡Open only to applicants working in the field of Solar Energy


¡A permanent position in a public funded R&D lab/S&T institution (non-private)/recognized universities/ colleges in India.

Viterbi-India ProgramI consider myself fortunate to have been selected as one of the 20 students for the Viterbi-India Program 2013, a summer research internship program at the University of Southern California (USC) with support from IUSSTF. Administrators at IUSSTF helped me a lot with the pre-departure procedures including the visa process and assistance regarding accommodation, for it was the first experience in the US for me. Our program coordinator at USC, Ms. Tracy Charles, helped me settle down once I arrived at the school by arranging an orientation program. Since I had been in contact with the faculty advisor I was going to work with over the summer; I did some of the pre-reading on his on-going research area before getting there. It helped me to start my project right away after I got to the Institute of Creative Technologies (ICT), a

research institute of USC where I spent six wonderful weeks of my life. I got the opportunity to learn about the state-of-the-art research technologies available there. The thing I loved the most was that everyone is given the freedom to express their ideas and give their suggestions during the weekly group meetings (I was part of the

Natural Language Dialog group at ICT), even if you are just an undergraduate interning there. My faculty advisor Prof. Anton Leuski was very supportive and helped me a great deal. Apart from the work, I also got to interact with the other ICT interns who hailed from different countries - we used to discuss about the different cultures, food habits, languages etc., over lunch which was an enriching experience. I was also fortunate to attend talks by eminent scientists and got to attend an international conference at ICT. There was a poster presentation session at the end of the program where we had to present our work to the faculty and students of Viterbi School. I also had fun-filled weekends with the entire Viterbi-India group. We visited almost every tourist attraction in the city and I am glad I made lifetime friends during this trip!

Rasiga Gowrisankar College of Engineering, Guindy


Newsletter of IUSSTFStudent–Speak

Shruti MohanSASTRA University, Thanjavur

A brilliant opportunity came in the form of the prestigious Khorana Fellowship, as a part of which I was able to do significant and interesting research in a lab at Bloomington. The eight weeks at this lab helped me mould a very sharp image of research. I understood that more than doing a million experiments, a well-planned and analysed experiment is expected. The work at the lab helped me hone my skills as a researcher. The most important lesson that I learnt was never to be disappointed when the results are not as expected, because the results that are obtained are always pointing towards the right direction.

Bloomington, essentially being a college town is extremely friendly. The first few days when I was lost without a map, people dropped their work to help me out. A family graciously decided that us, the Khorana scholars from India had to be shown the amazing parts of Bloomington and helped us meet great people. With so much knowledge to share and so many memories to cherish, it is going to be an experience of a lifetime. I am very grateful to IUSSTF for organizing the program and for being a constant support.

When I received a call from IUSSTF that I was selected for the Khorana Program for Scholars, I couldn’t believe my ears! It took a while for it to sink in that I had been given an opportunity of a lifetime. A few months later, almost reaching the end of the program, I’m still pinching myself.

Interacting with students, researchers and other Khorana scholars, at Indiana University has broadened my horizons in science, education and life, in general. My work on bacterial communication systems, also known as quorum-sensing, revolved around designing and optimizing a bioassay protocol to screen for chemicals that inhibit this communication pathway. I was awed by the potential of these little-known chemical communication systems in bacteria. My lab advisor, Dr. Julia van Kessel, was an excellent guide; with her comprehensive explanations and unwavering enthusiasm, I was able to undertake this project in the right direction and

yield fruitful results. On a non-professional note, I was able to tour places in and around Bloomington, which were aesthetically pleasing. Meeting new people and listening to their life stories was an exhilarating experience, in itself. Their diverse opinions and outlooks towards life, was mentally stimulating.

All in all, the wealth of knowledge and experience I will be taking back from this summer is priceless and perennial. I thank IUSSTF and the Khorana Program for having faith in me and selecting me for this prestigious fellowship. It is indeed an honour to be identified as a Khorana Scholar.

Giving Wings to Talent

Khorana Program for Scholars

To address the need for human resource development and capacity building in sci-ence and technology, the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) is commit-ted to nurture contacts between students of science and technology from India and the United States. It has been unambiguously demonstrated that providing students with an exposure to cutting-edge scientific research experiences at a formative stage not only broadens their intellectual horizons but also leads to increased engagements in scientific and technological research careers. In this section of Connect, we share with you the experiences of some of our bright, young interns in their own words!

Sanika Hakim Fergusson College

University of Pune

For more information on the Khorana Program for Scholars:Webpage: http://www.indousstf.org/Khorana/khorana_program.htmlE-mail: [email protected]

Debarghya SarkarJadavpur University, Kolkata

At USC during the Viterbi-India Program 2013, I worked with Prof. Michelle Povinelli on nanophotonics. My focus was on calculating the optical force & torque experienced by gold nanoparticles owing to the guided resonance modes of photonic crystals, and prediction of stable trapping, assembly, formation and orientation of nanostructures, from the Maxwell Stress Tensor calculated by FDTD simulations. The work experience in the setting of a leading institution with a vibrant group, together with lively group meetings often leading to new ideas or reconsideration of the methodology of solving the problem, and

the feeling of being a part of a pioneering work, have given me a true flavour of the US university work culture which is sure to help me in my graduate studies. It has also helped me decide to pursue my Ph.D. work in fields like nanophotonics, quantum optics, plasmonics, etc. Truly speaking, the entire experience of working in Prof. Povinelli’s lab was far beyond my initial expectations. I loved working in the lab till late hours, looked forward to presenting my “findings” in project sub-group meetings, formed a knack of printing volumes of journal papers & voraciously reading them, often enjoyed treats from Professor, and so on.



put, Dr. Weiss is one of the best people I have ever met. As a person he is the epitome of knowledge and experience and yet humble and affable. He is a pioneer in gelation phenomena and several other physical and photo-physical aspects of chemistry. I was assigned to two projects – one in chemistry and the other in physics. I was to synthesize self-assembling salts and study their photodimerization and gelation. I picked up many lab skills associated with such studies. A lot of research methodology revolves around making basic observations, simplistic measurements and yet deriving powerful questions.

The second project was an applied physics problem to study the effects of controlled wave action on oil-layers and gelated oil layers on the water surface. This involved setting up an entire apparatus involving cameras, function generator, lenses and picking up wave patterns using a laser. So many things were new and fascinating to learn that I came to appreciate every novelty that I came across. A REU Scholar, Franklin and me worked on the project which followed data collection, image processing and interpretation. I made many friends during the entire stay. In the company of lab-mates, dorm-mates and close friends, each day was a new adventure!

Coming to the things I could check out on my to-do list were the roller coasters, New York, Smithsonian museums, Sky-diving and a trip to the Unites States. New York, Baltimore and Washington DC are two very beautiful places with wonderful eateries and places to visit. For a super foodie like me the entire trip was

deliciously overwhelming. That said, I would love to skydive again someday! To manage all this on the weekends we had, we had work in our labs by the week. Dr. Weiss had group meetings every week and producing results was mandatory.

About the lab environment in the states – It is very affable. All you need to do in a department is to introduce yourself as a Bose or Khorana scholar and learn about the lab and explore the aspects that might help in any way to structure your own project. I got to know other labs through the scholars working there or by interactions with groups during conferences.

What I brought back is not just fresh memories of the fun I had, but more importantly, a set of skills to add to my inventory to aid in shaping my future research. Added to that were the amazing friends and fellow-scholars I had who made the entire experience cherishable, and an astounding mentor Dr. Weiss who still guides me and thus made this internship forever etched in memory!

My best wishes to the Bose program and the Bose scholars to come.

S.N. Bose Scholars Program

Bibek Ranjan SamantaIndian Institute of Science Education

and Research-Kolkata

The S.N. Bose scholars program was a stupefying experience! If I begin to count; it helped me cross out many points on my to-do checklist. I will save the bombastic details for later, knowing that being the first S.N. Bose scholars envelopes us in its unique stardom.

I had applied to the Bose scholarships although I was not very hopeful of the outcome and so was not following the usual “go to the site and check if the result is out” routine from time to time. To make it look cool, when my friends brought me the news that I got selected I replied with an emphatic “Really??” I’ve had internship experiences across labs at IISc Bangalore, IISER Pune and SNBNCBS Kolkata as well as short-term research projects in-house but on the very first thought I knew that this was going to be completely different. It felt comforting to be a part of the chatter on a Facebook page that we created, getting to know everyone’s opinions and preparations for the internship.

The visa, tickets and other formalities were over in a jiffy although weighed much due to a first timers whine. I was lucky I got accepted to Georgetown University where the representative for the Bose-Khorana program, Philip Thomas was very helpful with all the arrangements. His mails had wonderfully detailed answers to almost every possible query. The trip would not have been possible without the tiresome and endless help from Ms. Priya Thomas (IUSSTF) and Phil Thomas (Georgetown University).

At Georgetown I was to work with Dr. Richard Weiss who confirmed my acceptance after a brief Skype interview. In most cases I believe this is the most effective way to know a student. From what I have gathered so far from many Skype interviews is that the key is for you to lay out your ideas, goals and your background in a manner that is comfortable and not made up because your confidence level revolves around them and so do the questions shot at you. Simply

For more information on the Viterbi-India Program:Webpage: http://www.indousstf.org/Viterbi-India/Viterbi_India.html E-mail: : [email protected]

Srujan SinghIndian Institute of Technology-Kanpur

Well for me the S.N. Bose Scholarship came just at the right time, especially when I was in a dilemma whether to choose a career in research or to settle with a job in corporate world. Truly speaking, I am not only happy to be able to add the “S.N. Bose Scholar” title in my resume but also grateful to IUSSTF for giving us students the opportunity to come to these prestigious universities and work with some of the best minds in their respective fields.

Talking of Purdue University, ah… where to begin, first of all the campus is awesome :). The architecture boasts off exquisite workmanship of the 19th century era and the pervasive campus with its sun baked brick buildings in midst of lush green provides an absolute quiet and harmonious environment only to be disturbed by the occasional chirping of birds and the duel between chipmunks over nuts. And within this delight is my lab, situated at

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE).

I consider myself lucky as my mentor was really helpful throughout my internship period. I saw and experienced how life goes about in the research world - starting right from reading technical papers and journals, handling sophisticated apparatus and equipment, proper documentation of work and presenting it in front of a scientific mass etc. Moreover since the working team at my lab comprised of people with vivid technical and cultural backgrounds, it was really fun interacting with them and listening to their experiences- both good and bad. And it was not only work all the time, we had equal share of fun too! I and some of my colleagues visited nearby cities, tried new food and explored the downtown on weekends. Many museums, many zoos and historic places were covered – and the souvenirs and the great time we had will remind us of this wonderful experience forever.

And as luck would have it, I also got a chance to meet Prof. T.K. Chandrashekar (Secretary, Science and Engineering Research Board), Dr. Rajiv Tayal (Science and Engineering Research Board) and Dr. Nishritha Bopana (Principal Senior Officer, IUSSTF) and had a candid talk with them over coffee while they visited our campus. They shared their views, gave us a broader perspective of research and explained the scope of research today and in the years to come. This has motivated me all the more to pursue a career in research. So to conclude, I would say this was really a fun-filled summer for me where I learnt many new things as a student and a person and I am certain that this is going to help me in the long run just as it is going to help the future Bose Scholars. I wish them the very best of luck.



For more information on the S.N. Bose Scholars Program:Webpage: http://www.indousstf.org/bose/indianstudents.htm (For Indian Students) http://www.indousstf.org/bose/US-Students.html (For U.S. Students)E-mail: [email protected]

2015

[email protected]

Catalysing change through InnovationThe India Innovation Growth Program is a joint initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Stanford Graduate School of Business and the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas. The aim of this programme is to accelerate innovative Indian technologies into the global markets.

For IIGP-2014, twenty Pan India Road-shows were conducted for outreach of the program and a total of 1346 applications were received. Each application was thoroughly examined by a team of experts from FICCI and external subject matter experts to select the best 100 innovations. These applications and technologies were shared with all partners for further short-listing.

A Technology Commercialization & Entrepreneurship Workshop was held from April 20-25, 2014 wherein the selected 44

innovators were provided training in basic principles of product commercialization, readiness for market, business models, IP rights, competitive positioning, and mechanisms for revenue by experienced faculty members from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The Innovators’ Competition and Awards function was held from May 20-23, 2014. The top 44 innovators presented their innovations to a panel of technologists and commercialization experts from India and the United States. At the end of the competition, 30 best innovations were awarded. The awards ceremony was presided over by Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The top 10 Innovators selected from the IIGP-2014 will be taken to Silicon Valley and Stanford Graduate School of Business in September 2014 for learning the best practices of Innovation/startups and successful commercialization. 20 Innovators were also presented with a cash prize of Rs. One Lakh each.l

36 Connect • September 2014 37


The United States – India Science and Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF) team participated at TiEcon 2014 organised at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Silicon Valley on May 16-17, 2014. TiEcon is one of the largest and longest ongoing conferences focused around entrepreneurship and tech innovation. The objective of participating in TiEcon 2014 was to provide larger visibility and outreach to the USISTEF activities in the United States.

During the TiEcon, a Tech Exposition was also held where the Endowment Awardees showcased their product and technologies and the Endowment Team carried out an extensive promotional exercise of the upcoming fifth call of the Endowment Fund. The Tech Expo offered the Endowment Awardees a

unique opportunity to network with industry luminaries, VCs, successful entrepreneurs and seasoned executives at the TiEcon.

On May 17, the USISTEF also participated in a panel session titled “Cross-Border Innovation spurs Entrepreneurship”. The panelists, Mr. H K Mittal (National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Board) and Mr. Nilesh Shah (US Embassy), provided an overview of the objectives, timeline and process of the Endowment Fund. The panel discussion also provided an opportunity to deliberate about the priority areas of the Endowment Fund i.e. Healthy Individuals and Empowering Citizens. The panelists highlighted the technologies of the various Endowment Awardees which have been supported by the Endowment Fund and their societal Impact.

Fostering entrepreneurship

TiEcon 2014

Cont. on page 39

TiEcon 2014 | Silicon Valley | May 16-17, 2014DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program (IIGP) 2014


EVENTS DIARY

RECENT ADVANCES ON MODELING RARE EVENTS: METHODS AND APPLICATIONS

29 May-01 June 2014, Kumarakom, India

Development of molecular simulation algorithms to model rare events is an active field of research. Many of the interesting processes such as chemical reactions, phase transitions, nucleation, protein folding and conformational changes in molecules are examples of rare events in computer simulations. Modeling of such processes continues to be challenging and novel methods have to be designed to overcome the problems related to limited sampling. In order to bring experts from the United States and India to discuss

the latest progress in this field, Nisanth N. Nair (Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur) and Mark E. Tuckerman (New York University) organized an Indo-US workshop titled Recent advances in modeling rare events: methods and applications. The symposium was focused on the recent advances in modeling chemical reactions, structural transformations, protein folding, nucleation etc. Broadly, the talks were focused on predicting the mechanism, kinetics and thermodynamics of these processes.l

FORESTS OF THE WESTERN HIMALAYA: CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN A TIME OF CLIMATE CHANGE

28-29 June 2014Dehradun, India

The Himalayas are among the most important eco-regions of the world, sustaining a large part of humanity through the

ecosystem services that they provide through climatic and hydrological modulation, nutrient cycling and provisioning

May-June – 2014biodiversity, thus supporting millions of agricultural and forest-dependent livelihoods. The ecosystem services hinge upon the varied and extensive forest cover across this region, that is under increasing threat of degradation from over-exploitation, infrastructure development and climate change. In order to create a scientific understanding of the causes of forest degradation, its conservation and restoration, with a special reference to the Western Himalayas, Ghazala Shahabuddin (Centre for Ecology, Development and Research, New Delhi) and Timothy Gregoire (Yale

University, New Haven) organized an Indo-US workshop titled Forests of the Western Himalaya: conservation and restoration of ecosystem services in a time of climate change. The workshop aimed at building multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research collaborations on Himalayan ecology issues, increasing opportunities for training and learning through institutional collaborations and strengthening ties between scholars and conservation practitioners.l

June – 2014 EVENTS DIARY

sources and analyzed for their efficacy to saccharify pretreated biomass.

• The Stan Mayfield Biorefinery Pilot Plant operated by the University of Florida is fully operational and is processing sugarcane bagasse to cellulosic ethanol at 10,000 gallon fermentation level. Ethanol yield using this process averages about 70 gallons of ethanol per dry ton of bagasse.

• A genetically engineered Escherichia coli for production of butyric acid constructed and further work is in progress to optimize this construct.

• The sustainability analysis program in the USA has developed an agent based model for assessing economic impacts of biofuel markets along the supply chain.

• The India consortium has administered survey questionnaires and conducted focus group discussions to collect baseline information on socioeconomics and land use in targeted regions of Central (Madhya Pradesh) and Western (Gujarat) states of India.

• Economics and emission data were collected for current practices of farmers/growers to understand and estimate how the energy crops under the project would impact current economy and environment.

• Two joint project meetings of the U.S.A. and India consortia were held at the University of Florida, Gainesville and two capacity building workshops were held in India. l

A World Much GreenerContd. from page 8

Connect • May 2014 39Connect • September 201438

Dr. Pooja Mukul from the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) Jaipur, Endowment Awardee, delivered a brief talk on the ‘Affordable and User-Centric Knee Joints’ which is currently being developed in partnership with Dr. Krista Donaldson, D-Rev (Design Revolution), San Francisco. Endowment Fund grantees, One Breathe Inc., was awarded in the TiE50 category for their work in the field of Life Sciences for their Low cost affordable Mechanical ventilator.

The following Endowment Awardees showcased their technologies at the Tech Expo. • Mr. Michal Depa, Chief Technical Officer - Mobile Phone based HbA1c Analyzer• Mr. Nishith Chasmawala, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Consure

Medical- A Novel device to manage fecal incontinence in non-ambulatory patients

• Mr. Tanmaye Seth, Marketing Manager, Aquagri Processing Private Ltd., and Ganesh Vishwanath, Founder, GloBridge Ventures LLC. - Cultivated sea plants based organic bio-stimulants”. l

Tiecon 2014 : Fostering EntrepreneurshipCont. from page 37

Indo-US Science and Technology Forum: Catalysing Indo-US Science & Technology Cooperation over a decade.

For program details visit:

http://www.indousstf.org

Indo-US Science & Technology ForumThe Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), established under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States of America, is an autonomous, not for profit society in India, co-funded and co-governed by both the governments. IUSSTF promotes and catalyzes Indo-US collaborations in science, technology, engineering, biomedical research and innovation through substantive interaction among government, academia and industry.

Foster excellence by capitalizing on the scientific and technological synergyDisseminate information and create awareness through scientific exchangesBuild linkages through networking between academia and industryExplore new frontiers by nurturing contact between young and mid-career scientists Pave way to sustainable interactions and establish long term relationshipsEncourage public-private partnership to inculcate elements of innovation and entrepreneurship

Academia-Industry Connect ProgramsAdvance Schools & Training ProgramsBilateral Workshops & SymposiaFlagship EventsKnowledge R&D Networked Joint Centers

Programs on Innovation and EntrepreneurshipPublic-Private Networked R&D Joint CentresResearch Fellowships for FacultySpecial Initiatives for Strategic PartnershipsStudent Internships & Visiting Professorships

Exciting and innovative collaborative programs cutting across disciplines and institutions

What we do

Who we are

We support

We invite

How to contact us?

Indo-US S&T Forum

IUSSTF

Proposals which are peer reviewed both in India and USA for awards Bilateral Indo-US Workshop/Symposia & Indo-US Training/Advanced SchoolsSubmission Deadlines Award Announcements15 February 30 June15 August 31 December

Indo-US Public-Private Networked Centres & Indo-US Knowledge R&D Networked CentresSubmission Deadline Award Announcement15 August 31 December

Indo-US Science and Technology Forum: Catalysing Indo-US Science & Technology Cooperation over a decade.

For program details visit:

http://www.indousstf.org

Indo-US Science & Technology ForumThe Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), established under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States of America, is an autonomous, not for profit society in India, co-funded and co-governed by both the governments. IUSSTF promotes and catalyzes Indo-US collaborations in science, technology, engineering, biomedical research and innovation through substantive interaction among government, academia and industry.

Foster excellence by capitalizing on the scientific and technological synergyDisseminate information and create awareness through scientific exchangesBuild linkages through networking between academia and industryExplore new frontiers by nurturing contact between young and mid-career scientists Pave way to sustainable interactions and establish long term relationshipsEncourage public-private partnership to inculcate elements of innovation and entrepreneurship

Academia-Industry Connect ProgramsAdvance Schools & Training ProgramsBilateral Workshops & SymposiaFlagship EventsKnowledge R&D Networked Joint Centers

Programs on Innovation and EntrepreneurshipPublic-Private Networked R&D Joint CentresResearch Fellowships for FacultySpecial Initiatives for Strategic PartnershipsStudent Internships & Visiting Professorships

Exciting and innovative collaborative programs cutting across disciplines and institutions

What we do

Who we are

We support

We invite

How to contact us?

Indo-US S&T Forum

IUSSTF

Proposals which are peer reviewed both in India and USA for awards Bilateral Indo-US Workshop/Symposia & Indo-US Training/Advanced SchoolsSubmission Deadlines Award Announcements15 February 30 June15 August 31 December

Indo-US Public-Private Networked Centres & Indo-US Knowledge R&D Networked CentresSubmission Deadline Award Announcement15 August 31 December

www.iusstf.org and www.indousstf.org

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